What makes a card counter successful in blackjack?

[D.A.]

1, Competence. (That actually entails a lot)
2. Work ethic.
3. Social skills.

NT and I always say that #3 is one of the big factors that separates average from exceptional. It's also the hardest to teach. Just about everything else can be learned with enough practice. Many folks think it can't make that big of a difference and anyone can fit in enough to sit at a table, but it's so much more than that. It's about creating advantageous opportunities that others can't, prolonging your welcome, knowing quickly when you've worn it out, and being able to effectively work with others to accomplish things that you couldn't solo.

[mofungoo]

Persistence
Technical competence
Bankroll

[mc_square]

I'd say skills and traits required for success (whatever we, ourselves, decide this is) are more in number than we can list, but some broad, main ones might be:

1) Managing money well - EV - trip costs, adjusting betting ramps appropriately, etc.

2) Controlling one's emotions - The table can get intense! Maybe a count is high and you feel like doubling your maxbet to 'compensate' for earlier losses... maybe you need to keep count while a glowering ploppy visually eats your soul for 'messing up the flow of the cards'.

3) Research! - Read a book (or ten!), get ahold of all the blackjack software you need, research the hell out of blackjack forums, new and old. (some of the best info comes from these forums!)

4) Camo - Blend in, limiting playing time, employing certain index plays and, perhaps employing an AP technique or two other than straight counting (maybe shuffle tracking) to throw off people watching to see if you're counting and then mixing this to your liking.

[FalseCount]

Something besides the worst of variance.
Nobody has a truly unlimited bankroll, and therefore everyone will have at least a .0000001% risk of ruin, many of us will have much higher.

This means that somebody, somewhere, will keep the count with perfect accuracy, size their bets in direct correlation to the count, execute index plays flawlessly, and remove all emotion from their play. Despite all this and betting at 1/4 Kelly, they will go broke.

[hitthat16]

According to Snyder, Love.

You have to love winning. You don't want to just beat a game. You want to destroy it.

[JBX2]

Balls, brains and backroll.

[bebe]

Something besides the worst of variance.
Nobody has a truly unlimited bankroll, and therefore everyone will have at least a .0000001% risk of ruin, many of us will have much higher.

This means that somebody, somewhere, will keep the count with perfect accuracy, size their bets in direct correlation to the count, execute index plays flawlessly, and remove all emotion from their play. Despite all this and betting at 1/4 Kelly, they will go broke.

That sucks...do everything perfect and still go broke, ROR is a b**ch ...but then so is variance
Why do we love this game again

[seriousplayer]

I don't follow your thinking. Either one has discipline or one doesn't. A low level of discipline means no discipline, as far as I'm concerned. Either you have the discipline to make the right moves or you don't.
Its like basic strategy. Either you know it or you don't . Knowing 90% of it and being a bit fuzzy on soft numbers and splits means you don't know basic strategy.

On the your previous post you just mention "Discipline and a large bankroll. One is almost worthless without the other." You never said anything regarding basic strategy. There are player that don't follow the rule of AP and play game with high house edge but they still adhere to doing everything else correct. In this case that person don't have that intense of a discipline. Having a high level of discipline is doing everything proficiently in term of Advantage Play. Yes you will have to play everything according to basic strategy but that is not calling having sufficient discipline.

[stopgambling]

Able to get to the long run is what i would add to some of these important criteria.proper bankroll(hefty for the game) ,1/4 kelly, -1/8 kelly. Proper plan (average game but almost no heat. mediocore rules but other perks , lots of stores but just acceptable conditions etc...) I don't think we all need to squeeze everything out of the game but the game plan must make enough Ev to covered the cost of the neglected plays.